The invention relates to a thermostatic valve having a valve disk that can be adjusted by a thermostatic working element, as well as having a valve seat and a ventilating valve comprising a cage which is mounted on the valve seat or the valve disk, has a passage opening, and accommodates the valve body serving as the closing element for the passage opening.
In the case of a known thermostatic valve of the initially mentioned type (German Patent Document DE-GM 81 02 817.2), a swivel part is provided as the cage for a valve body constructed as a ball and has an essentially cup-shaped form. After the inserting of the ball into this cage, the outer edge of the cup-shaped swivel part is flanged in such a manner that the remaining opening is smaller than the ball diameter. The bottom of the swivel part is provided with a projection which is fitted through an opening of the valve seat and is then flanged.
It is an object of the invention to provide a thermostatic valve of the initially mentioned type which can be produced at lower cost.
This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention in that the cage is provided with an entry opening for the valve body which is bordered by at least one tongue that can be elastically deformed for the inserting of the valve body and bounds a cross-section of the entry opening which is smaller than the diameter of the valve body.
By means of this development, it is achieved that the cage of the thermostatic valve as such can be manufactured in one operation, after which it is provided with the valve body without the subsequent requirement of another machining of the cage by flanging or the like. As a result, one operation can be saved during the manufacturing which leads to a significant reduction of manufacturing costs in view of the very large piece numbers that are produced in the case of the manufacturing of such thermostatic valves.
In a further development of the invention, it is provided that the at least one tongue is provided with a projection which projects toward the inside into the entry opening and which, on the outside, is provided with a chamfering and, on the inside, is provided with a stop surface extending essentially transversely to the moving direction of the valve body. As a result, it is achieved that, on the one hand, the valve body can be introduced in a simple manner in which case at least one tongue is automatically spread away during the inserting movement. The stop surface will then provide that the valve body is secured inside the cage.
In a further development of the invention, it is provided that the cage has an essentially cylindrical shape and, at one end, in a front face, is provided with the passage opening and, at the other end, is provided with the entry opening for the valve body. In order to mount elastic tongues on a cage of this type in a simple manner, it is provided in this case that the cage has at least two axial slots which start at the entry opening and bound one tongue. In the normal operation, i.e., when the thermostatic valve is open, the ventilating valve must be closed. As a result of the dynamic forces of the flowing medium, the valve body is brought into the closed position. In order to ensure that dynamic forces act sufficiently on the valve body, it is provided in an expedient development of the invention that the cage has an axial length which corresponds to approximately twice the axial length of the valve body which is preferably developed as a ball, and that the axial slots extend along approximately half the axial length of the cage.
In a further development of the invention, it is provided that the cage is provided in the area of the passage opening with a projection which can be inserted into a recess of the valve seat or of the valve plate and which is equipped with a locking device which can be locked with the valve seat or the valve disk. By means of this development, it is achieved that also the mounting of the cage on the valve disk or the valve seat does not require another machining of the cage, particularly any flanging or the like. As a result, a further work step can be saved during the assembly which further reduces the expenses.
In a particularly advantageous development of the invention, it is provided that the cage is manufactured in one piece with the tongue or tongues and/or the locking device. In this case, it is particularly expedient for the cage to be manufactured as a molded plastic part. The manufacturing of such a cage itself is very inexpensive and, for the above-mentioned reasons, a subsequent machining of the cage is not necessary.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.